Metric: Fantasies
Metric is back. We know this because we see the faintly bearded, forever charming ol’ boys of the band downing beer at an Ossington garage party one night, and recovering on the Drake patio the next aft.
Also—okay, fine, more importantly—they have a new album, Fantasies (Last Gang Records). Their fourth studio recording, it’s as close to the stadium sound as they’ll ever make: plastic, bombastic, all blown-out guitars and synth gloss. Emily Haines, the killer-legged frontwoman, has a whiskeyed whisper of a voice that should by now have turned into a Janis Joplin rasp; instead, it’s acquired a hard sheen. When she sings “Help, I’m Alive” (the already ubiquitous single), there’s more cool irony than urgency. And when she says, “Who would you rather be? The Beatles or the Rolling Stones?” it’s easy to image she’s speaking for the band, and they’ve chosen the latter. They’ve gone big, but they always go home, too.
Tomorrow, the Fantastic Four will be performing and signing their CDs at HMV in Toronto (333 Yonge St.); on April 16th they’ll repeat the deal in Montreal, at the Apple Store (1321 Rue Ste-Catherine Ouest).
Then, on April 14, Fantasies become reality when Metric makes their first moshpit stop at Toronto’s Mod Club. Hit up ilovemetric.com/wintickets and drop your name in the draw, or play the listen-to-win game with Edge 102.1.
